Using mirrors

[Kevinkrey]

I want a mirror to make my river look longer, but I dont want to see the bridge or myself in the reflection if posible. Is there a way to angle the mirror? I cant get my paint files of the scene to load. so Imagine it, the whole scene is 1' deep the with a valley and a bridge over it. How tall of a mirror would I want, what would an angle be? Any suggestions?

 

[CNJ999]

Kevin, without actually seeing the modeled scene firsthand, it is very difficult to offer much in the way of sound advice. A great deal matters regarding the placement of your bridge and how steep the sides of your river gorge are, as well as its width.

I can tell you that, even for a fairly narrow river gorge, any mirror will likely have to be set to at least a 30-degree angle with the backdrop and more likely around 45-degrees, if you don't wish to see your own reflection in it. In addition, hiding the top edge of a mirror can prove quite difficult, especially when it is set at such a dramatic angle in a fairly shallow scene. Likewise, appreciate that a common, rear-surface, mirror will likely do a poor job and may result in a double image. Only front-surface mirrors are well suited to such modeling purposes and, in the larger sizes, can prove quite expensive.

Try getting that photo of your scene posted and it will be a lot easier to offer advice.

CNJ999

 

[60103]

Kevin: to keep the bridge out of the scene, you have to have the whole mirror below your eye level (and the eye level of all your visitors).
Angled mirrors keep you out of the picture. The best ones are across the end of a scene. And a pair of mirrors at 90 degrees (right angle) facing to each other and 45 degrees to your view do an interesting reverse of view -- e.g. reverse sides of a road and make it look as if objects aren't about to crash into each other.

 

[MasonJar]

There have been a number of articles in MR (and possibly others) about the use of mirrors. They all seems to point to similar issues that have been identified above. Note that mirrors with the reflective coating on the front are more delicate, but more effective.

To be most effective, all edges must be hidden - or at least the bottom and sides. In your case, is the bridge at the backdrop? If yes, all four sides of the mirror can be hidden by the rivebed, banks, and the bridge itself.

I like David's suggestion of two mirrors to reverse the view, but it may not be needed in your case.

Andrew